READ THE CITIZENS' VOICE

Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital e-Edition of The Citizens' Voice on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at citizensvoice.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device or email, read the e-Edition, sign up for daily newsletters, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Contact Us
See department contacts, frequently asked questions, request customer service support, submit a photo or place an ad.

Article Tools

FAIRMOUNT TWP. - Once again there was a natural gas rig at the Encana Oil & Gas USA Inc. well pad on Route 118 behind the Ricketts Glen Hotel.

However, this time it was there to pull up the pipe and plug the well instead of drill.

Encana has already plugged its other exploratory natural gas well on Zosh Road in Lake Township and, when the work is done at the Fairmount Township site, both will be restored.

Owen Stone, a contracted Encana employee who stayed at the site in an essential personnel trailer while the Fairmount Township well was being drilled, returned to the site this week to watch his work being undone.

In addition to royalties for landowners, the wells would have brought more employment and tax revenue to the region, he said.

"It was devastating for a lot of people," Stone said.

The two wells were Luzerne County's first and Encana's only foray to date into the Marcellus Shale. The Colorado-based company had plans for 10 more wells in Lake and Fairmount townships and was in the process of preparing sites for gas compressor stations and taps into the Transco interstate natural gas pipeline.

But in a Nov. 17 letter to lessors, Encana Land Group Lead Kit Akers wrote, "After collecting and analyzing extensive data from each well, we concluded that the wells were unlikely to produce natural gas in commercial quantities." The company would "discontinue all activity in the area immediately," she stated.

Stone said Encana had a lot invested in the project. If the wells had any potential for opportunity, the company would have pursued it, he said.

"Dry holes are always disappointing, but unfortunately, they're a reality of the oil and gas exploration business," Stone said.

eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.